I've been sitting on this item all day. Technically, it's about patents and the like, and even I understand I've been beating this dead horse so often it almost looks like it's alive. However, this is an interesting opinion piece by Craig Hockenberry, long-time employee at The Iconfactory, one of my favourite software development houses - these guys breath software and beautiful design, and employ one of my favourite artists, David Lanham. The gist of his story? Software patents are killing the independent developer scene.

See, I don't ever buy that argument. That's just an excuse for bad behavior. I don't see companies like Red Hat and others playing the patent protection racket game. Microsoft will do anything to succeed. Everyone knows that. Everyone also know Microsoft would stab them in the back for a penny.

I may be naive in thinking that businesses should be ethical. But there must be a lot of people like me as Ohio (who enacted ethical business laws) is seeing a large rise in incorporations within its state. Those companies will have the legal option of doing what is best for the community or its employees instead of strictly what makes the bottom line rise.